An energy company in the United Arab Emirates is bucking the trend of using unsustainable fossil fuel, instead investing in renewables.

MASDAR have taken the initiative to focus on cleaner sources of producing energy, right in the heart of the oil gulf.

The change has come as scientists warn of the dangers of continuing to consume fossil fuels at its current rate. Academics spoke out on the issue during an interview with Ryan Duffy, as part of the Huffington Post’s ‘Now What’ series.

One energy company is doing its bit to tackle climate change

“The problem with climate is the impact it has on the future and the causes are everywhere,” said Steven Cohen, executive director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University; Jon Christiensen, from UCLA, warned of the collapse of rainforests and the continuing of monsoons in South East Asia.

MASDAR CEO Dr Ahmad Belhaul told Duffy the company’s reasoning for a sustainable future: “We know that the demand for energy will keep going and we know that not one source could handle it,” he said.

The company is making an important step to turn to alternative sources of energy such as solar and water power at the same time that the current fossil fuel dependency is both damaging in the short term, and wholly unsustainable in the long term.

Duffy himself sums up the move during the video: “As we rapidly approach a crisis point of no return, one of the largest oil exporters in the world has built a renewable energy oasis,” he said.